How to Transfer From an IPhone to Samsung Galaxy

By Andrew Tennyson

Learn how to transfer a variety of items from your iPhone to your Samsung Galaxy, including contacts, photos, music and calendars.

Use a combination of the Samsung Smart Switch app and an OTG cable to transfer almost every type of content from an iPhone to your Samsung Galaxy device. You can also transfer limited content from one device to the other via the cloud.

Samsung Smart Switch

Use a special OTG cable to connect your iPhone directly to your Samsung Galaxy device -- this allows you to transfer everything except apps from one device to another. The cable is available from many major retailers.

Download the Smart Switch app on your Samsung device, connect the Galaxy to the iPhone using the OTG cable, and follow the prompts on the screens of both devices to authorize a direct connection between them.

Place check marks next to the transferable content you want to move from the iPhone to the Galaxy and tap Import to begin the transfer process. This process can take several minutes, depending on the number of items you're moving from one device to the other.

Transfer Using the Cloud

If you'd rather not purchase the OTG cable, you can still transfer some content -- including contacts, music, photos and your calendars -- via the cloud. Before you begin, first enable synchronization on your Samsung Galaxy. With synchronization enabled, any open app automatically imports new content from the cloud.

Step 1

Open the Settings app on your Samsung Galaxy device and select Accounts on the main menu.

Tip

Accounts is located in the Users and Backup section. You may have to scroll down to find it.

Step 2

Select Google on the list of account types.

Step 3

Touch the name of your primary account and then enable synchronization for each of the listed items.

Transfer Contacts

Step 1

Connect your iPhone to your PC. Open iTunes on the computer if it does not open automatically.

Step 2

Select your iPhone on the list of connected devices.

Step 3

Click the Info tab, place a check mark in the Sync Contacts With check box, click the associated drop-down menu and select Google Contacts. Click the Configure button, if necessary, to set your Google account.

Step 4

Open the Contacts app on your Samsung Galaxy and wait for the contacts to import.

Transfer Photos

Step 1

Step 2

Open and sign in to the Google Photos app using the Google account associated with your Android device.

Step 3

Tap the Menu icon in the top corner of the app, touch the Gear icon, select Camera and Photos and then toggle the Back Up & Sync switch to the On position. Wait while your iPhone transfers your photos to the cloud. This may take several minutes, depending on the number of photos on the iPhone.

Step 4

Open the Gallery app on your Samsung Galaxy and wait while the phone imports your photos.

Transfer Music

The cloud-based Google Play Music platform lets you import up to 20,000 songs from the iTunes library on your iPhone. You can then access this music in the cloud using the Google Play Music app on your Samsung Galaxy device.

Step 1

Connect your iPhone to your computer, launch iTunes and select your iPhone on the list of available devices.

Step 2

Click the Music tab, select all of the music you want to transfer to your Galaxy and then click the Sync button to make sure the libraries on your computer and iPhone are synchronized.

Step 3

Download and install the Google Play Music Manager on your computer and follow the prompts to sign in to your Google account and transfer your iTunes music to the cloud.

Step 4

Install the Google Play Music app on your Samsung Galaxy. The app automatically accesses all of the music stored in the cloud.

Transfer Your Calendar

To transfer calendar items to your Galaxy, open the Settings app on the iPhone, touch Mail, Contacts, Calendars and follow the prompts to add your Google account, if it's not already added. Enable calendar synchronization, and events and appointments are automatically transferred from the iPhone onto the Galaxy.